Bottlenose Dolphin Capital of the World

Nelson Mandela Bay is known as the Water Sports Capital of South Africa and now boast an additional title to its identity, the Bottlenose Capital of the World.

Research conducted in the 90s by the Centre for Dolphin Studies in South Africa showed that approximately 20 000 Bottlenose Dolphins were in Algoa Bay in Nelson Mandela Bay. Today that number is estimated at 30 000 dolphins, which surpasses other areas around the world.

Establishing the city as the Bottlenose Capital of the WOrld can branch out into a number of tourism and economic opportunities in line with the aims of the blue economy,” said Mandlakazi Skefile, Chief Executive Officer of Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism.

“This title, in addition to our region being placed at world class standards with three blue flag status beaches, being nominated as one of the top ports in the country for the World Travel Awards, and of course being known as the water sports capital of South Africa places us miles ahead of our competitors in terms of the attractiveness of our destination and will go towards getting more visitors on to our shores,” added Skefile.

The launch of this initiative also brings into focus the need to educate the community about the unique ecology of the local coastline, getting them to participate in spreading the word about its importance and contributing to growing a sustainable economy.

Skefile confirmed that plans are already underway to launch a Dolphin Festival, during Marine Month in October. She added it will be a celebration of these friendly creatures with the permanent smiles on their faces.

“We are privileged to be in a position to lay claim to this natural attraction and the benefit will be to further establish this Capital on the international map in order to market another attraction to what we already have to offer as a world class tourist destination,” Skefile said